The Swiss art world has been abuzz with the opening of a major retrospective dedicated to the late Bern-based artist Franz Gertsch. The exhibition, titled Blow-Up, features works spanning his entire career and marks the first large-scale showcase since his death in 2022. Two Swiss museums have joined forces for this ambitious project: the Kunstmuseum Bern and the Museum Franz Gertsch in Burgdorf. The exhibition opens in Bern on August 16, 2026, and will run until January 17, 2027, before moving to Burgdorf, where it will be on display from September 19, 2026, through February 28, 2027. The show was developed in collaboration with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark and the Deichtorhallen in Germany. At the heart of the exhibition is Bach im Mondschein (Bach under the Moonlight), created in 1956. This early work, painted in monochrome grays, depicts a nocturnal forest landscape. It forms a striking counterpart to three large-format paintings displayed at the end of the exhibition’s tour, works featuring grass, pestroot, and a woodland section rendered in blue tones. These pieces, separated by over six decades, highlight the evolution of Gertsch’s artistic journey while underscoring a consistent theme: nature, albeit interpreted through different lenses and techniques. The exhibition reveals a side of Gertsch that many had perhaps forgotten, a young, energetic, and determined painter who was actively searching for his artistic path during the late 1960s and early 1970s. His work during this period was characterized by bold, stencil-like images inspired by pop art. One pivotal moment came in 1969 when Gertsch took a small image from a magazine, a film still, and enlarged it to dimensions of 1.7 meters by 2.61 meters. This act became a defining feature of his style, emphasizing scale as a central element in his creative process. Kathleen Bühler, the curator of the exhibition in Bern, explains that Gertsch used the size of his works to bring attention to themes he considered important. Large formats traditionally reserved for depictions of gods, battles, and crowned heads were repurposed by Gertsch to elevate seemingly mundane subjects such as pop culture and roadside vegetation into monumental status. “Pestwurz is often seen as a weed,” Bühler notes, “but Gertsch saw it differently.” A notable aspect of the exhibition is its focus on Gertsch’s photographic work. Initially, he created paintings based on found photographs, but later he took up photography himself. He captured images of family members and fellow artists, including the younger artist Luciano Castelli and his extravagant circle of friends in Lucerne. These photographs were then transformed into large-scale paintings, some of which depict scenes of young people of all genders applying makeup to one another. These images reflect a vibrant, creative universe that is both shabby and dazzling, evoking a sense of nostalgia and contemporary relevance. One of the standout pieces, Marina schminkt Luciano (Marina Dyes Luciano), painted in 1975, measures 234 by 346 centimeters and showcases Gertsch’s signature style of hyper-realistic detail and vivid color. Displayed in a specially designed “Night Room” with gray walls, these works create a dramatic contrast against the dark backdrop, allowing the bright, sometimes fluorescent colors to shine. The effect is both spectacular and immersive, drawing viewers into the depicted scenes. The exhibition also includes historical photographs of Gertsch working in his studio, such as an image from 1972 showing him in the Gassner Brewery in Bern while painting Medici. These behind-the-scenes glimpses provide insight into Gertsch’s creative process and the physicality of his work. The sheer scale of his canvases is evident even in these photos, where the artist appears almost dwarfed by the enormity of his creations. As the exhibition moves from Bern to Burgdorf, it promises to offer a comprehensive view of Gertsch’s oeuvre, highlighting how his approach to art evolved over time. With its emphasis on scale, immersion, and the transformation of everyday elements into monumental works, Blow-Up aims to redefine public perception of Gertsch’s legacy. The exhibition’s dual venues ensure that a broader audience can engage with his work, reinforcing the idea that Gertsch’s vision continues to resonate powerfully today.
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